Hear, Hear! Elder Dallas

Dear Family!

It was so great being able to talk to you all on Christmas! Although... I wish I could have been there to celebrate with everyone. It's really crazy how fast that two hours went, time never seems to go that fast on regular days, so I couldn't tell you why that was. I'm glad that you liked my package, and that everything came in okay. (That was one of the reasons why I didn't have time to write home.) The boat is money better spent than college, so I think you're making the right choice. (;

EDITOR'S NOTE: [Elder Dallas sent home a SkyMall Magazine asking for this needful item upon his return in 2016.]

The Seabreacher Customized Boat
allows the vessel to jump over, dive under,
and cut through the waves.
Starting at $85,000

I didn't have time to report that last week, I went to the doctor because I couldn't hear out of my left ear, and I had a pressure and a throbbing pain in my left ear for several days. WARNING: CONTAINS GRAPHIC CONTENT. At the doctor's office, it was determined that I did not have an ear infection like I had previously thought, but that I had a bunch of earwax in both ears that was blocking everything up. So they flushed my ears out with a hydrogen peroxide solution, and a ton of little pieces came out of both ears. The gross part was that I had a chunk of wax in both ears that were about half the size of a penny. The total amount of wax that was flushed out of my ears could have probably filled one of the measuring cups you use for liquid medicines... Anyways, I can hear again, so CHEEYAH!

This week, we had a part-member family come to church that we've been working with for the whole time I've been out here on my mission, and it was their first time coming in what sounds like years! They were really going through some rough times last week, but they figured out that the happiest their family ever was was when they were attending church, so hopefully that keeps them motivated to come in the future! The family consists of Nina and Jason (the parents), Zach (13), Erik (11), Kayden (10), Madison (9), Harley (7), and Jackson (2). Zach and Erik have both been baptized, but aren't priesthood holders, and Kayden and Madison haven't been baptized, so there can be a lot of great work done with this family! It seems like every time we visit their family, one of the kids ask what they have to do to be baptized. Nina said that she had a really good experience at church on Sunday, so hopefully this gets the ball rolling for future progression in their family!

Also this week, we were able to teach lessons to French, Mark, and Ray. Although none of them made it to church on Sunday, we hope to continue to teach them this week and see them progress as time moves on. Saturday, Elder Olsen and I tracted into a woman named Mrs. Bell, who let us right in. We taught Mrs. Bell and her family a short lesson on the Book of Mormon, and even though they are Baptist, they agreed to read together and to have us back to discuss what they read. She asked us questions like, "Do you celebrate Christmas?" and "Do you think Jesus was baptized by immersion?" She seemed really surprised that we share some of the same beliefs that she does.

I forgot to ask on Christmas: are there some favorite scriptures that you guys have that I should memorize? I've been trying to memorize scriptures, and I'd love to add a few more to the list if there are some that you'd recommend!

So the picture at the top is of me and Shawntae! He's so chill!

I think that's it for the week! Let me know if you have any questions for me. I love you all!

Elder Dallas Anderson